AI and Template Brands Aren’t Trademarkable

Apr 28

If You Can Find It Online, You Can’t Own It: Why AI and Templates Kill Trademark Dreams

In today’s rush for speed, automation, and cost-cutting, AI-generated logos and branding templates are everywhere. In a few clicks, you can have a “professional-looking” brand for less than the price of dinner. Tempting, right?

But here’s the cold, hard truth: if you didn’t create it from scratch, you probably can’t legally own it.

In the U.S., trademarks protect originality. They give businesses the exclusive right to use their name, logo, or tagline within their industry. But if your brand elements came from an AI scraping millions of other designs—or if you bought a $25 Canva template—your "original" brand might be eerily similar to someone else’s. Worse, you may not have the legal right to defend it if someone else copies you.

Here’s why:

AI tools and templates are designed for mass use.
Copyright and trademark laws protect original expression, not mass-produced or derivative work.
Many AI-generated designs pull inspiration (or even actual fragments) from copyrighted work without permission.

When you rely on shortcuts, you're not just risking looking generic—you’re risking lawsuits, confusion in the marketplace, and major rebranding costs down the line.

At Treebird Branding, we build brands the old-fashioned way:
By starting with real insights, real strategy, and real creativity.
Because when you invest in an original brand built for you—and only you—you’re not just creating a look. You’re protecting your future.

True brands aren't downloaded. They're discovered.

Jaci Lund

Jaci Lund partner, creative director, designer Jaci’s quick wit and native intelligence comes across as soon as you meet her—and carries over to her design, where she fuses fun and sophistication in just the right doses. With a dual focus on creating original branding for new concepts and revitalizing the look and feel of even the most-established brands, Jaci approaches each project with a fresh and thoughtful perspective. While she recognizes the relevance of current trends, she’s hyper-conscious of the fine line that separates “trend” from “fad,” and tends toward more timeless and classic looks for her clients. Before founding Treebird, Jaci was instrumental in growing the design department at Atlanta’s The Reynolds Group, Inc. Through a five-year tenure that saw her quickly ascend to senior designer and then become the company’s first creative director, Jaci worked on design and branding projects with visionaries, entrepreneurs, and business leaders whom she admires greatly and whose own passion elevates her sense of what’s possible through new design, branding, and communication. Jaci has won nine ADDY Awards (and counting) for her design and branding work and has twice been featured in the national design blog “Art of the Menu.” She holds a B.A. in communications from Michigan State University and completed the graphic design program at The Creative Circus, where she also teaches a quarterly course called “Introduction to Creative Thinking.” To see Jaci's previous work please visit jacilund.com.

treebirdbranding.com